MARTIN O'NEILL had the look of a relieved man as a late own-goal by Demba Ba handed his Sunderland side an undeserved share of the North-east spoils.

But it was a local rivalry which will be remembered for all the wrong reasons as Sunderland fans aimed vile insults at Newcastle substitute defender Steven Taylor in a week when incidents involving supporters in Serbia, Leeds and now the Stadium of Light have dragged football into the sewers.

Referee Martin Atkinson’s decision to send off Cheick Tiote meant Alan Pardew’s side were shorn of his muscular presence from the 25th minute, but Newcastle came within five minutes of holding out for a famous victory, only for Ba to head into his own net.

It was cruel on a Magpies side who had stood firm, with skipper Fabricio Coloccini giving his usual immense display at the heart of the Newcastle defence before going off with cramp, Pardew even comparing his performance to the late, great Bobby Moore.

With just one win in 15 league matches – an unconvincing 1-0 victory three weeks ago over Wigan – O’Neill is finding it tough at the Stadium of Light. Ever since their FA Cup quarter-final loss to Everton in March, Sunderland have bombed.

I accepted the sending-off. There is no doubt he hasn’t tried to do the player, he was just late

Alan Pardew

Confidence is clearly in short supply and, as an attacking threat, they looked clueless for long periods yesterday, only for Seb Larsson’s brilliance at dead-ball deliveries to trigger Ba’s mistake.

Pardew said: “It would have been one of our greatest victories if we had hung on. Towards the end we just started to tie up, but maybe if Coloccini had stayed on we could have seen it out. If you want an example of how a centre-half should play, that was it.

“I came from a club, West Ham, where Bobby Moore was a legend and that was like watching Bobby Moore. It was one of the best performances I have seen.

“I accepted the sending-off. There is no doubt he hasn’t tried to do the player, he was just late. I was surprised to see the red. When we had 11 on the pitch we looked a class act.

“We showed our fans how much it meant to us, particularly when we went down to 10 men. I am disappointed we have not taken all three points, which says a lot when you are down to 10 men. There are no negatives to be taken from this game at all.”

Pardew elected to put fit-again Steven Taylor on the substitutes’ bench – “Mike Williamson has been playing very well lately and no one is an automatic pick,” he said.

They scored with their first foray on goal as Ba’s shot was parried by Simon Mignolet into Yohan Cabaye’s path, and he drilled a low shot into the net. Mignolet then saved well from Cabaye before Tiote was sent off for a high tackle on Steven Fletcher – a borderline decision.

Craig Gardner missed the target by a fraction with a whistling shot, before Ba flashed an overhead kick just over the bar from inside the six-yard box. After the break, the visitors handled Sunderland with something approaching ease, with Coloccini and Williamson dominant at the heart of the Magpies defence.

At the other end, John O’Shea bravely charged down Ba’s attempted finish and the Newcastle striker then missed a golden chance when put through by Cabaye, failing to add the finishing touch after he had outpaced the Sunderland back line.

Newcastle were poised to take all three points when Larsson’s whipped-in free-kick skimmed across the Magpies defence for O’Shea’s header to hit Ba in the face and fly past Tim Krul.

O’Neill said: “It was a point gained for us. We got knocked back by the early goal and they were strong. The sending-off allowed us to bring more poise to our game, but we became rather anxious in the final third.

“Sheer pressure alone led to the goal rather than anything flamboyantly brilliant. In the circumstances, with Newcastle down to 10 men and having defended so strongly, a defeat would have been harsh on them. The noise that greeted our equaliser I won’t forget in a hurry, but our creative players are finding it a bit tough at the moment and they need to get back to what they were doing. Getting a late equaliser has definitely kept our spirits up.”

A derby, which was marred by appalling chanting from the terraces, at least ended with both managers sharing a handshake and smile, significant progress after last season when the pair scuffled in the dugout.

“I told him to behave himself before the game,” said O’Neill, with a wide grin. His team were poor, but they scraped a point.